"You can see the champ was scared to put the belt on the line" - Fans hilariously react to Alexander Volkanovski claiming he was "breaking" during face-off with Hasbulla Magomedov
MMA fans have reacted to a video of UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski breaking into laughter while facing off with internet sensation Hasbulla Magomedov.
Volkanovski is in Abu Dhabi for UFC 280 as a backup for either Charles Oliveira or Islam Makhachev for the main event. The pair are set to meet in the octagon for the vacant lightweight title, and if there's any controversy that requires 'The Great' to step in as a replacement, the Australian will be eagerly waiting in the wings for an eventual shot at the title.
In the clip posted on his Twitter account, Alexander Volkanovski takes part in an intense staredown with Hasbulla Magomedov. After a while, the featherweight champion laughs and says:
"I'm breaking! I'm breaking! I'm usually very good at that but I've broke."
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MMA fans have responded to the video, with one fan hilariously suggesting that Volkanovski is too scared to put the title on the line against Hasbulla.
"Where is the belt Volk??? You can see the champ was scared to put it on the line"
@alexvolkanovski where is the belt volk??? you can see the champ was scared to put it on the line
Another fan joked that although 'Volk' is the GOAT of 145 lbs, Hasbulla would have no problem defeating him.
"Alex is FW goat but Hasbi makes the easy work of him. No offense."
@alexvolkanovski Alex is FW goat but Hasbi makes the easy work of him. No offense.
Twitter user @Loveol9210 added that a matchup against Hasbualla Magomedov would be toughest fight of 'The Great's MMA career so far.
"Volk's toughest test."
@alexvolkanovski Volk's toughest test.
Check out other fan reactions below:
🏽@alexvolkanovski Be careful that he bursts you in the ring 💪🏽
@alexvolkanovski Alex looked feard af. Hasbi won.
🏻@alexvolkanovski Gotta love volkanovski, just a good dude 👌🏻
@alexvolkanovski P4P x GOAT 👑🐐
@alexvolkanovski You can’t handle these powers of his little tiny fists.
@alexvolkanovski you're a real champ Alex and a role model, super excited to watch you in Australia 🇦🇺
@alexvolkanovski I would love to see Volk pick him up and ragdoll his little ass
Alexander Volkanovski reveals a main event fighter was struggling to make weight
Alexander Volkanovski dropped some pretty substantial news during an interview with BT Sport while out in Abu Dhabi. According to 'The Great', his team received a call in the middle of the night asking for updates on his weight.
The Australian fighter stated that he never had the chance to respond because he was asleep and wasn't given the name of which fighter it may have been. Volkanovski believes there must have been an issue or they wouldn't have made the call:
"Well, without giving too much away... We were asked pretty late last night, 'How's Alex doing?' So obviously someone was struggling a bit. But I was asleep when that happened, I heard about it this morning. But, all good."
There were doubts from fans about the main event due to Charles Oliveira's controversial weight miss at UFC 274. The Brazilian tipped the scale by 0.5 lbs over the limit and was subsequently stripped of the title.
Thankfully, both Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev stepped onto the scale without any issue later that day, each weighing 154.5 lbs. Alexander Volkanovski also made weight, hitting exactly 155 lbs.
Catch the BT Sport interview here:
The Featherweight Champ @alexvolkanovski says his team were still asked 'late last night' if his 155lbs target was still on course 👀
#UFC280 | Saturday, 7PM | BT Sport Box Office https://t.co/BKIYQKjOxz